Evan, 1 year

Alex, 1 year

Evan, 18 months

Alex, 18 months

Evan, 2 years

Evan, 3 years

Monday, April 30, 2007

Saturday, April 28, 2007

I had such a great time in Vegas. It was so motivating and inspirational! We got to listen to Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul guy) and many other wonderful people (which I'm blanking on their names at the moment!). I was STILL inspired, even if I can't remember their names now! ha! The new products are amazing!!!!! I had such a great time with my team there and also meeting new people. There was over 16,000 people there and I can't wait for this upcoming year! We are launching internationally in AUSTRALIA!!!! I am sitting at my parents house right now, I had a party today to share the new products and Mike has to work tonight, so I am just going to spend the night here and hang out with my folks. I NEED to sleep. I only had an hour of sleep Thurs. night before teaching on Friday and didn't really get much sleep Friday night either...so hopefully I can catch up tonight. Here are a few pictures that I will share (I took over 250) and that would be WAY too much to put here! Then...off to bed. :)

Friday, April 27, 2007

Awesome...Awesome Time! I can't wait to post some pictures and let you know about my time with the Arbonne friends and team members at the National Convention. The new products are awesome! If you have kids and teens, this is going to be the time to try them out! We have new kids vitaminsthat come in a a powder to just add to water and shake! These are in a berry flavor and for teen vitamins, they come in a cherry chew! Amazing! There are also a TON of new teen makeup and color products. Check out http://www.fyiarbonne.com you can also check out www.arbonne.com I can't wait to share the news with you! I am teaching today on only an hour of sleep! My flight arrived in Kansas City at 1 am and then I had to drive back to Columbia. The last time I looked at the clock it was 5 am...so getting up at 6 am was crazy! It was so worth it though! Pics to come....

Monday, April 23, 2007

I just had to post this picture of Heather who was exhausted after looking at 25 houses (some of the same ones, some new ones, my parents and the Malone's house). It was exhausting and I only looked at 7! We are praying that this decision will just "fall in your lap" and you'll know soon enough! Have a great day!

Sunday, April 22, 2007

I am off to Vegas!!!! I am leaving tomorrow after school and coming back Friday morning and teaching that day! Crazy! But....I am SO excited. I am going to the Arbonne National Conference to get motivated, see and hear WONDERFUL speakers and to see the NEW PRODUCTS!!!! They are going to be amazing whatever they are! Go to www.arbonne.com after the 25th to see the new products! :) I do have a couple of pictures to post, but I need to finish packing right now. I will try to get them up before school in the morning. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

CONGRATS to Kelli and Kris whose house is SOLD!!! Yeah! Mike and I will also be praying that you will find the right place to stay until your new house is finished being built!

Morrisons....we hope the drive back went well and you had a chance to narrow down your house choices!

Erin and Mike, we hope Shoga and Allie didn't get out of your backyard again and the chicken wire is working.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

The above title stands for the house that we would pick if we were the Morrisons! We went house hunting with them today in St. Louis and they have a lot of hard choices and decisions to make in the next few days. We saw some really good houses but boy, was it exhausting! We looked at 7 houses with them today. They might have set a record on Friday though. They looked at 16 houses!!!!! CRAZY!!!! INSEINE!!!! It was so fun to hang out with them and the Malone's on Friday night and Sat. day. Friday night, we went to my parents house and ordered pizza and just relaxed. After that, we went back to their hotel for a slumber party and used their pool and hot tub. It was so nice to not have anything to worry about this weekend. We visited the Malone's new house today and it is awesome! I wish I would have taken some pictures, but I am sure we'll be there another time! :) Here are some pictures from this weekend. :) Enjoy!

Also, thanks to Mike's parents and Dave for helping watch/take care of Jack today. I am sure Lynne and Harold are going to be a little bit sore tomorrow, because they meant to take Jack on a walk today, but I am POSITIVE that Jack took them for a walk! Have a great night!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

We are so sad about what has happened with Virginia Tech and our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. We have had LOTS going on just with everyday busy-ness and getting ready to go out of town and having this happen puts a lot of things into perspective. We had a lockdown at our school today for 25 minutes because of a nearby shooting between two groups of people and even though it wasn't that close to our school or MU (where Mike was on duty today) it still makes you worry and think about what is really important in life. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends, and victims of this terrible tragedy

Friday, April 13, 2007

At school today, to celebrate the end of MAP testing, we had career day. The students could dress up like someone who they wanted to be when they got older....most of them turned out SO cute! One of my students wanted to be an ESPN sports announcer....I think his was the best!

This is the rest of my class. You can kind of see my new haircut! I had 6 inches cut off! The back is stacked and looks good! I will try to take a picture this weekend to show ya!

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Mike and I had a very relaxing weekend. His grandparents and Aunt came into town so we spent most of our time at his parent's house. We played games, ate a LOT, and just relaxed. It was so nice. This is a recent picture of Jack who is SO funny! Lately, since Mike and I have been really busy with work, he spends most of his time outside during the day. So, when he is inside, he is so cuddly and most of the time, he is sleeping because he plays outside all day! He also is SO set on a schedule that its too funny if we try to go over "his time." For instance, he wakes up when we do, usually around 6 am. Then we (and in we...I mean Mike!) takes him outside to use the bathroom and then he eats breakfast. When I leave, I put him outside, check his water, and give him a kiss! Mike usually gets home before me, so he usually plays fetch, and then lets him inside. When I get home around 5 or so, we feed him and then let him roam around the house with us...but usually he is zonked out! He lays on his back with his feet in the air....I will have to try to get a picture of that! But, by 7 pm and then again at 9 pm, he gets up and goes to sit in front of the TV so we can't see it; letting us know that he has to go outside! It's so funny. He'll sit there and watch us and if we decide to not let him out...he'll come over to you, and sit by you probably thinking "It's ___pm why aren't you taking me out now!?" He is such a good dog! Thanks for listening to this ramble of Jack's schedule! Ha!We also enjoyed our tulips that popped out a few days before the FREEZING Easter weather, and now they are no longer as nice and straight as they should be! It was SO cold......Hopefully it will start to get warmer and our other flowers can start to bloom! Have a great Wednesday!

Saturday, April 7, 2007

I hope everyone is having a great weekend with family and friends. Mike and I hung out with his grandparents and Aunt who came into town from Iowa. We played games, ate, and talked. It was very relaxing! I did miss my parents and family who all went over to my Grandma Fergy's house this weekend, but I hope to see them soon! :) I still can't believe how cold it is! The low tonight is supposed to be in the teens! Crazy!!! I thought winter was over. Our tulips and flowers have all died. :( Hopefully it will warm up soon...it's supposed to be spring ya know???!!!

Friday, April 6, 2007

I hope everyone has had a great week so far. I am SO glad it's the weekend. HAPPY EASTER! This post might be a bit random, so I apologize in advance for that! :)

My knee has been getting a little stronger each day. I am off crutches and I have physical therapy 3 times a week for the next month. I am still having a hard time straightening it, but an even harder time bending it. I hope that each day it gets a little bit better.

We have MAP testing next week. So 4 days of complete stress and trying to get the kids relaxed enough to not freak out and actually think and do their best. For those who don't know what the MAP is...it's the Missouri Assessment Test and it stinks! I don't know anyone who likes it. The hardest part I have with it is...you have some students who are no where near 4th grade reading level, yet, they are expected to take this 4th grade test! How are they supposed to read that if they can't????? Even those who have IEP's are still expected to take the same test. It makes no sense to me. If the state people want to see where these kids are REALLY at academically, give them a test on their level. Geez....

We also celebrated today the kids that participated in the Pizza Hut Book it program. We have been doing this since October. The students did not have to participate. ALl they had to do was read 400 minutes a month. Which, their homework is reading 20 minutes a night plus other things, so they are getting at least the 400 minutes. Anyway, those students who chose to participate and turn their signed sheet in, were treated today to a Pizza Hut lunch. Those who participated were super excited because they were not told (Oct.-March) that I would do this for them. I wanted to see who would actually read on their own without an incentive. :) My gripe about this long drawn out post so far is this:

I had 14 students (out of 24) choose to participate....so I called Pizza Hut and asked how many pizzas they thought I should get for 15 total people. I wanted to have enough for everyone to get at least 2, maybe even 3. They told me 5 large pizzas, which I bought, and they even gave me a deal. The total..... $54 (+ 6) for a tip = $60. My kids were excited, eating and talking. The next thing I know, one of the students (who apparently wanted more then 3 slices) said that this was a RIP OFF because he didn't get enough pizza. I was SHOCKED!!!!! Out of the kindness of my heart I bought these kids pizza, soda and bragged to the rest of the class about going above and beyond their "work". One of the other students in my class said "_____, that wasn't very nice....you should be grateful for what you get." I calmly told this boy..."I am so sorry that you only get 3 pieces. I spent $60 for something that I thought you would all enjoy. I know all of you can eat more then this, so if you would like more pizza....then you need to tell your parents that this weekend so you can get some more and be happy. ANYWAY....I was just so MAD for this ungrateful little boy and his huge appetite. I wanted to be really mean and sarcastic....but I held back. At least the other students realized that he was RUDE! :) Thanks for listening to me vent about that! Ha!

Today wasn't so bad. I went back and my kiddos were great! I think they were a little shocked I was back and on crutches with a big ol' ice brace around my knee and about 90% of the day they were tired! I think being off for a whole week wore them out! Overall I feel okay. It is really swollen now after being up all day on it. I did try to sit as much as possible. I go back to the doctor tomorrow to get my stitches out and I want to ask him when he thinks I can straighten and bend my knee all the way will be. It doesn't feel right yet, so hopefully he'll have some answers for me! Have a great Monday!

Sunday, April 1, 2007

As you can see...it is 11:15 pm and I still can't sleep! I guess I am nervous about going back to school tomorrow and seeing how I'll do with my knee and all. So...instead of lying in bed getting frustrated, I decided to have some fun with celebrity look-alikes...I know there are a lot, but it was SO much fun to see who the computer thinks looks like my fam! Enjoy!